Monday, November 9, 2015

If Mitsuyo Maeda had not visited Brazil, MMA may not exist. If it did, it would be very different.

"A
Lion's Dream (Conde Koma)" is the biography of Maeda. Written by Norio
Kouyama, this book was honored with the Shogakukan Non-Fiction Award.
Kouyama is not a martial arts specialist, so in this review of the book I
evaluate how much merit it has as a biography.

Jigoro
Kano was ambitious about education. He had dedicated himself to
developing judo in Japan, but at the same time he was known as an
educator. During this time, Japan was not valued as an equal by the
western world, and martial arts were regarded lightly because of western
culture and its guns. Martial arts were treated as strange samurai
tactics that were not useful (against guns) during the Meiji period in
Japan.

Kano
believed that education could change the perspective about martial arts
and of Japan itself. Therefore, he believed that he needed to expand
traditional martial arts by introducing them to the western world. He
dispatched many of his students around the world. Tsunejiro Tomita was
set to be dispatched, but he was already more than 40 years old and Kano
felt that he needed to recruit more of the younger active martial
artists for this task. Luckily for Maeda, his other mentors were sent to
Butokukai and he was able to travel abroad.

Butokukai Head Quarter

Before
two judokas began the trip, one was recognized in America. That man was
Yoshitsugu Yamashita, who impressed Theodore Roosevelt with his judo.
Roosevelt wanted to bring a judo class to Annapolis, but Annapolis did
not like that idea. After further discussion, Yamashita was permitted to
compete at Annapolis. He fought a wrestler, Lieutenant Joseph Grant,
who was roughly 10 years younger than Yamashita. Grant stood 2.0 meters
tall and weighed 160kgs. Yamashita was 1.6 meters tall and weighed only
68kgs.

Yamashita
had already spent one year in the United States and he knew how
wrestlers fought. He countered Grant's forward movement with a throw and
immediately went for a rear-naked choke. Grant stood up to try to flip
Yamashita, but Yamashita secured an armbar when Grant used his left arm
to stand. Grant gave up the fight and that made Yamashita the new judo
coach at Annapolis.

Tomita
and Maeda arrived in New York and were invited to West Point due to
Yamashita's success at Annapolis. Maeda fought a school wrestling
champion who took top position early in the match. The audience believed
that that was the definition of victory, but Maeda rose to his feet and
threw the wrestler before submitting him with an armbar. The audience
still believed that the wrestler had won by pinfall.

Even
at his advanced age, the audience believed that Tomita was better than
Maeda since he was Maeda's mentor. As an athlete, Tomita was past his
prime, but West Point arranged for him to compete against an even better
fighter than Maeda had faced.

Tomita
lost that fight and that made his and Maeda's evaluations lower. This
is why Maeda went on to challenge many other martial arts fighters for
money and recognition. He made trips to many countries to challenge
other martial artists, and he understood judo's merits and faults
against various disciplines.

During
his breakdown of wrestling, Maeda noted that he would only accept
fights against clothed opponents. He felt that he would still defeat
unclothed wrestlers who were the same size as him, but he could lose to
heavier opponents simply due to a power disadvantage. He recommended the
Tsurikomigoshi technique against wrestlers because catching an arm
would benefit the judoka and also defend against an opponent's attacks
if a throw failed.

Maeda
broke down tactics for competing against a boxer as well. He tried to
challenge Jack Johnson, but Johnson refused to take part in a cross
martial arts battle. The author of "Conde Koma" points out that this was
similar to how proud Helio Gracie was when Joe Louis refused his
challenge.

Maeda's
foes were not billed as the strongest martial artists. Each one would
simply be presented to him as a boxing champion or a wrestling champion.
Maeda was confident that he could beat all of them, but there was a
level of respect from both sides and his opponents did not proclaim to
be "masters" at boxing or wrestling.

Maeda
gained fame among Japanese immigrants in the United States due to the
martial arts contests that he won. At the time, a movement had begun in
America against Japanese immigrants. Maeda was conscious of the respect
from immigrants and also of the social circumstances. He used the ring
name "Yamato Maeda" to encourage people and himself.

During
his trips all over world, Maeda spent time in some countries where
Japanese people had comfortable lives. Brazil was undeveloped compared
to America, but Maeda felt that there were still opportunities for
Japanese immigrants to thrive.

I
have omitted Maeda's time in Japan and in Brazil from this review
because that should be read if and when it is presented in book form.
"Conde Koma" is more about the social situations that Maeda faced and it
includes almost nothing about his relationship with the Gracies or his
education. Still, it is interesting because it explains how he
encountered cross martial arts fights and how his journey resembled that
of the early Gracies. It also educates newer MMA fans who are not
familiar with the lineage of martial arts.